Andrew Allemann of DNW and how he discovered domain names

This is the third interview with a number of top domain name industry figures. Read the interview with Rick Schwartz and Ron Jackson.

Andrew Allemann owns DomainNameWire.com – one of the domain industry’s leading news sources. His blog is always up to date with the latest happenings in the domain world. I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about how he got started in the domain name industry.

JF: How did you discover the domain name industry?

AA: I discovered the domain name industry while I was in college in the late 90’s. The .com bubble was beginning to bubble up but we were still on dial-up in the dorms. I registered about 30 domains in the few years before graduating in 2000. Some were purchased to create web sites (which I did on Microsoft Frontpage or HotDog back then) and some as an investment.

JF: What was the first domain name you purchased as an investment?

AA: I don’t recall specifically. While in college I purchased some domains that I created web sites for and ended up selling on eBay. Some of the domains I registered back then, such as NYCsearch.com, I still have today.

Back then domains were $70 for a two year registration. They even sent you a paper notice for each domain you registered.

JF: What was the first domain name you sold, and for how much?

AA: I believe the first site I sold (it was mostly for the value of the site) was JackpotCentral.com, a site that linked to online gambling sites. It was (sorta) legal back then. :) I listed it on eBay and sold it for a couple thousand dollars. The most I sold a site for before graduating was in the neighborhood of $10,000. Again, that was a site and not just a domain. I also did domain appraisals while I was in college, which generated quite a bit of beer money.

JF: How have you become so well known in the industry?

AA: Mostly from my blog, Domain Name Wire. It was the first blog covering the business of domain names so it was a good way to get my name out there.

JF: Has this helped you succeed?

AA: Absolutely. I’ve had many wonderful conversations and introductions to people through the blog.

I want to extend a big “thank you” to Andrew for taking the time to answer my questions. It’s been very interesting for me to learn about how our industry figures found domain names. I hope it’s been interesting for you as well!

Do you want to share your story with the world? Shoot me an email via my contact form. I want to share how an average domainer like myself got started, too.